1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to a container having at least one vent which is opened and closed to control communication between the interior and exterior of the container. More particularly, the invention relates to a venting arrangement for a container comprising two telescoping trays in which the outer tray has a hinged flap and the inner tray has a hinged flap that may be locked in an open position in which it also retains the outer tray flap in an open position.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
Cut flowers are pre-cooled before shipment to prolong freshness. The pre-cooling process involves packing the cut flowers in a corrugated container and then forced-air cooling the flowers within the container. For forced-air cooling, vents are provided at opposite ends of the container to permit warm moist air from the flowers to be withdrawn from the container at one end and low temperature air to be introduced from the opposite end. Once the pre-cooling process has been completed, the vents are closed as quickly as possible . Thus, a venting arrangement should be capable of being easily opened and locked in its open position for forced-air cooling and then easily closed by a simple manual operation.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,163,494 and 4,176,745 to Stollberg disclose two (2) corrugated containers for forced-air cooling cut flowers. Each of these containers comprise two (2) telescoping trays with each tray having a base panel and side walls extending therefrom. In the first Stollberg patent, open apertures are provided in the inner or bottom tray, while the upper or cover tray has an aperture with a closure flap which may be locked in an open position. The closure flap comprises two (2) segments which are hingedly coupled along a fold line with one of the segments being otherwise free of the container and the other segment hingedly coupled to the container. A notch is provided in the cover tray for retaining the cover closure flap in its open position.
The second Stollberg patent has openings with flaps on both of the cover and bottom trays. In this arrangement, the cover flap may be locked such that it also retains the bottom tray closure flap in an open position. The cover closure flap is similar in construction to the cover closure flap of the first Stollberg patent. The closure flap of the bottom tray has an opening that through which the cover closure flap may extend to lock both flaps in the open position.
The arrangements of the Stollberg patents are deficient in that the arrangement does not provide a sufficiently secure locking of the flaps in their open position. The first Stollberg patent arrangement is deficient in that the vents in the bottom tray are not covered by flaps to seal the bottom tray openings. The second Stollberg patent arrangement is deficient in that the opening of the flaps requires a difficult and cumbersome manipulation.